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New Exhibit Feature: Wildfire

Friday, July 5, 2013 - 12:00pm to 4:00pm

Saturday, July 6, 2013 - 12:00pm to 4:00pm

The Rio Tinto Center

Join us for the opening of a new feature within the Nature Unleashed exhibition. The Wildfire exhibit area examines a powerful natural force that is particularly relevant to life in the West. New panels and interactives explore the role of wildfire in forest ecology and the relationship between humans and wildfire.

Experts at the Museum:

Meet working firefighters and learn about the trucks and equipment they use to fight wild land fires.

JoinMitchell Power, Curator of the Garrett Herbarium and wildfire expert, for brief presentations on fire ecology in the West. These presentations will be offered at 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00.

Experience a Fire Suppression Demo – Meet Fire Marshall Richard White and his team and see the Museum's fire suppression system that protects the Museum from wildfire. Demos will occur on Friday, July 5 at 1:20pm and 1:40pm.

Meet fire expert Tyre Holfeltz and learn how to keep your house safe from wildfires.

Join fire researcher Lovina Turney to get up-to-date on the fire research currently being conducted in the Uinta Mountains. Learn how a beetle and some mistletoe are shedding light on the history of fire in the Uintas. And, examine charcoal fragments and plant fossil remains under microscope.

Join hybrid oak expert Blake Wellard to learn about to how to identify the hybrid oaks that dot the Shoreline trail. Discover the history of hybrid ecology and see if you can solve the hybrid oak mystery.* Please Note: Firefighters presentations are subject to change as fire professionals may be called away by an emergency.

Activities for all Ages:

Explore plants from the Museum’s herbarium to discover their fire adaptations.

Take a self-guided walk outside the Museum to see the impact of fire on plant communities on the hillsidethat burned in 2011.

Peer through a microscope at ancient charcoal fragments and learn how scientists use them to study fire patterns in the past.